


If we never get back home

by dapperanachronism



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adventure, Feelings, Get Together, Interdimensial Travel, M/M, Technology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 02:15:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7022455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dapperanachronism/pseuds/dapperanachronism
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Welp, we're lost, Jarvis's has got nothing and the only thing I see is that tower over there." Tony gestured over towards the horizon.</p>
<p>"Well, let's go check it out." Steve responded. Because of course, never in the history of ever has anything bad happened after those words, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	If we never get back home

**Author's Note:**

> This is my work for this years' Cap-Ironman's Reverse Big Bang. I had the joy of working with the wonderful Selofain who's amazing art [You can find right here.](http://img00.deviantart.net/66c8/i/2016/151/0/8/cap_iron_man_reverse_big_bang_2016__lost_by_selofain-da4enxy.jpg)
> 
> Big thanks for making such fun art that inspired me to step outside my comfort zone. Also, my eternal gratitude goes out to imafriendlydalek who helped me hash out some stuff in the beginning to get this off the ground, disco-pinecone for an amazing beta job and to Amonae who spent literally hours with me over chai while writing this piece. I had a lot of fun on this project.

“What the hell was that?" Tony groaned, pushing himself up on his elbows as he picked himself up from his undignified place sprawled in the dirt. Beside him Steve pushed himself to his feet and offered his hand. With a groan Tony took it and pulled himself upright.. "J what's our status?" He asked, glancing around at the strange surroundings, waiting for the familiar sound of JARVIS' voice to tell him they were okay. Or that they were totally screwed. It was a toss up, really, at this point, but he’d take either. Anything was better than the resounding silence that was ringing in his ears. "JARVIS? You with me buddy? Come on, time to earn your keep."  
  
"I-I'm sorry sir." JARVIS responded after a moment, tripping over his words. That was the second sign that something was definitely not right. "I seem to be... malfunctioning."  
  
"Malfunctioning?"

  
"Operating at reduced capacity. I seem to have lost contact with the StarkhjuServers. I can not connect through any satellites. Onboard scanners are operational, but all other inputs appears offline."  
  
"I didn't think we got hit that hard." Tony frowned. "J, run a diagnostic on the communications relay."  
  
"Is JARVIS okay?" Steve asked, his brow furrowing under the cowl.  
  
"Not sure, honestly." Tony admitted, and damn, if that didn't fill him with a cold feeling he’d rather not examine too closely. Looking around the area, Tony took a moment to absorb their new surroundings. The lush rolling hills, the mountains in the distance, all of it was a far cry from the secret lab backdrop they had been up against a few minutes before and let out a low whistle. "Welp, we're lost. JARVIS, any ideas?"  
  
"I've completed the diagnostic. The communications relay is operational, but I cannot connect to our home network or the satellite array. Basic scans of the visible area are insufficient to determine our location." JARVIS responded, an edge to his voice that Tony picked up on only because he knew that voice better than his own.  
  
"Hang in there, we'll figure this out." Tony promised, turning his attention to Steve. "JARVIS has nothing and the only thing that I see is that tower." He gestured over to the horizon where the silhouette of something vaguely tower shaped was visible.  
  
"Well, let's go check it out, Iron Man." Steve responded, setting out down the hill.  
  
"Right, let’s go say hi to the locals, ‘cause that always ends well. Should have brought a fruit basket or something." Tony muttered before grabbing Steve around the waist. "Best hang on."  
  
Fortunately, being limited to the suit processors didn't inhibit their ability to fly, but it still felt wrong, like he could feel the tension and the discomfort coming from JARVIS hanging around them. Or maybe that was just him. The surroundings, JARVIS' inability to connect to the outside, everything the HYDRA scientist had been babbling about seconds before the lab had been magically transformed into the countryside... Tony was crunching the variables and he wasn't liking the answer he was arriving at. 

The tower, which had looked small in the distance, turned out to be a looming structure that cast a long shadow along the ground. Rough stone work formed the round base and high windows sat further up, with a single heavy wooden door on strong iron hinges marking the only visible point of entry.  
  
“That probably doesn’t meet fire code,” Tony muttered, studying the structure. 

"What is this place?" Steve asked in wonder, running his hand along the mortar between the stone. 

“It’s definitely weird.” Tony agreed, staring at it intently, debating the merits of flying up to the windows versus actually knocking at the door. Or blasting. He wasn’t against blasting. Before he came to any decision Steve stepped past him and pounded against the door, three dull thuds against the thick wood.  
  
"You know there is flaw with this system." Tony huffed, gazing up at the top of the tower. "There's like a zero percent chance anyone farther than like twenty feet from the door heard that."  The silence that followed and the door that didn't budge seemed to prove his point. "Right then, to hell with this." Firing the repulsors, Tony shot up, putting himself level with a window fifteen metres above them. From his position on the ground, Steve craned his neck and looked up just in time to hear a bang and see Tony being thrown back through the air by some unseen force, repulsors adjusting to steady himself before he hit the ground.  
  
"What the hell happened?" Steve yelled, running over to where Tony was descending back down to ground level, He ran fingers ran over the plates of the suit, checking for damages. Nothing but that didn't mean anything. "Are you alright? It sounded like you got shot."  
  
Brushing off the concern Tony looked back up at the tower, the glare obvious even under the helmet. "Fine. But there is definitely someone home in there."  
  
"Pretty sure they don't want visitors."  
  
"Pretty sure I don't give a fuck. We're in the middle of goddamn nowhere, this is the only sign of life and I want some answers. It's either this or we just pick a random direction to fly and hope for the best. Which, I’ve gotta say, I’m not feeling that." Tony snapped in response.  
  
"Well, maybe trying to peer in through the windows wasn't the best way to say hi." Steve said shortly, dropping his his hand from the front of the suit.  
  
Above them a voice cut through the air, interrupting Tony before he could respond. "Who are you? What do you want here, foreigners?" A pause and the voice continued, hinting at curiosity. "What is that metal man?" 

“Metal man?” Tony huffed in response. “Where are we, Asgard?” A moment later appeared in the window a person who was anything but Asgardian.. Thin arms and narrow shoulders leaned out over the stone sill, a dark brow furrowed up in confusion and curiosity. 

“We’re not an enemy. We’re lost.” Steve called back and above them rang a sharp laugh. 

“That part is painfully obvious. Stay where you are, I’m coming down. Don’t try anything funny or I promise you you’ll stay lost permanently.”  The man disappeared from the window leaving Steve and Tony waiting outside the door, hoping that the only living soul they’d seen since showing up in this place wasn’t about to shoot them down where they stood. 

The seconds ticked by, marked by the anxious tapping of metal fingers and Tony’s almost incoherent mutters of “We got this J.” In response to JARVIS’s growing uncertainty and inability to fully assess the situation. 

“I’m detecting strange energy signatures originating from inside the tower.” JARVIS informed him. 

“Energy signatures? What kind?” 

“I’m not certain. The readings do not match anything that I have on record presently, and I am unable to cross reference with our databases.” 

“Well, keep at eye on it, J, let me know if anything funky starts happening.” 

“At this point, I anticipate that you will detect any anomaly far before I am capable.” JARVIS responded, a clipped and bitter edge in his tone that Tony had never heard before. The sound of creaking wood and metal from the heavy door drew his attention before he could reply, though, and from inside the tower appeared the man from the window. He’d appeared small in the window, but up close he looked even smaller, standing a full head shorter than Tony or Steve but there was a tension coiled tightly in his narrow shoulders. 

“You never answered my question. Who the hell are you?” The man asked, his eyes darting between the two of them.  Stepping forward Steve lowered his shield and raised his hand in a show of peace. 

“My name is Steve. This is Tony. And honestly? We have no idea where we are.” 

“Hm. Lost travelers. A likely story.” The ma at the window responded with obvious suspicious.

 “I'll show you a likely story.” Tony muttered under his breath. Beside him Steve lowered one hand and set it against the back of Tony's shoulder. He couldn't feel it, but the sensors lit up and informed him of the gentle weight as Steve continued speaking.

 “It's true. We came in from east of here-”

 “There's nothing east of here for hundreds of miles apart from a few mountain villages.” 

“Yeah we kind of suspected that.” Tony said sharply.  “We didn't come from the east east, like over the misty mountains east. Less east, like explosion-flash-of-light-we-aren't-in-kansas east.”

 “Flash of light?” The man startled and his expression shifted into one far more curious and a little alarmed. 

“Ayup.” Tony continued, pointing over his shoulder back the way they came across the plain. “You know anything about that?” The man paused for a moment, biting his lip in thought before he spoke. 

“My name is Ryn, and I think it best if you come inside.”

 

* * *

 

The inside of the tower was far more spacious and welcoming than the cold stone exterior would have led an unbiased observer to believe. Ryn led them up to a warm room, a study of sorts judging by the desk covered in paper and the technical schematics lining the walls. Tony let out a low whistle of appreciation before opening the suit and stepping out.

 “This is a pile of work you’ve got going on here.” He said, walking the room and taking it all in. Before he made it far, Steve reached out and settled a hand gently against his arm, drawing him back to the centre of the room. In front of them, Ryn gestured to a couple of soft chairs which Tony stared warily at like they might attack him. A pointed look from Steve and he reluctantly took a seat, drumming his fingers against the arm. 

“A couple of hours ago, I saw a flash and heard a crash like thunder across the plains.” Ryn began, staring with intrigue at the both of them. “I knew it was possible to pass across the veil but I’ve never seen it myself.”  Tony’s fingers froze, hovering just the chair. 

“Excuse me?” He stared over at Ryn, eyes boring holes in their host as he tried to follow the jump in his train of thought  “Back up a second. What do you mean pass across the veil?" 

“The veil. The divide between here and elsewhere.” Ryn continued, picking up a book from the table and flicking through the pages and pages of notes. “It’s possible, but it’s nearly impossible to control and stabilise.” 

“That’s what HYDRA was working on at that lab.” Steve surmised, his face clouding over “They had no idea how to control it either.” 

“But how did they manage it? This HYDRA. What were they doing?” Ryn asked curiously. 

Pushing himself to his feet, Tony began pacing the room, pausing to examine the drawings on the walls or fiddle with the various tools and trinkets that covered the tables. “That’s a question I’d kind of like to know the answer to myself. Also where ‘here’ is. And who you are.” 

“Well I told you, my name is Ryn. I’m... I guess I’m a... A creator. I explore things, figure out how they work. I understand energy and mechanics, I can manipulate how things work and create things that no one else can.” As he spoke Ryn’s eyes followed Tony around the room, watching curiously as Tony explored the space. Pausing, Tony picked up a schematic on the table and frowned. 

“What the hell is this?”  At his confusion Ryn was across the room, peering around Tony at the drawing. 

“That’s the core of something I’m working on.” Ryn smiled in pride but Tony remained unconvinced. 

“Well I can’t say I understand what you’re going for here, but it’s not going to work. I have no idea how you’re power source is going to interface. And you’ve forgotten about any kind of resistor. The whole thing is going to overheat. And why are you using so many gears?”

 “Well what else am I supposed to use?” Ryn asked, genuinely confused. 

“What else-- What do you mean what else? Here, you’ve got space for a circuit board that could optimise this whole processes. Or I mean it could once the process works.” Tony explained. Ryn’s expression at his words was a mirror of his own confusion, and Tony huffed, motioning him over. “Come here.” He insisted, bounding across the room to the suit, pulling off one of the panels and pushing the wires aside to reveal one of the small circuits in the shoulder. Ryn appeared beside him, audibly gasping at the sight. 

“How? What is this?  This is how you make it fly?” He asked in amazement. 

“This, among other things.” Carefully removing the helmet, Tony dropped it gently over Ryn’s head and waited. A minute later Ryn quickly pulled the helmet off and stared at Tony in wonder. 

“That is amazing. Your JARVIS, he seems a little like BIT, only you’ve managed to give him a voice, which I don’t understand how.” 

“What’s BIT?” Tony asked, taking the helmet back and placing it back on the suit. 

“BIT is the project I was working on, the one I designed that core for. It’s sort of like your JARVIS I think, but it can only communicate through writing.  It helps me work through problems faster, run equations and parse variables and different outcomes.” Ryn explained. For a second Tony stared blankly, and then in three steps was back across the room, bent over the drawing again. 

“This design here, this works?” Tony asked, jabbing at the drawing. Ryn stared across at him blankly. 

“Well, of course it does.” He said, almost offended. “Come on, I’ll show you.” Ryn led the way back down the staircase, Steve close on his heels and Tony following behind with the suit. Down they headed, level after level, past the main entrance into the basement which opened into a massive room, filled with machinery and tools. It reminded Steve so much of Tony’s shop back home, genius and creativity strewn about -- but it wasn’t Tony’s, so similar yet so different it was jarring. 

Ryn hurried around the room, lighting torches that cast a bright glow, illuminating a massive machine against one wall, all metal and gears surrounded by the low hum of energy. Stepping aside, Steve watched as Tony slowly made his way across the room to where Ryn was already opening a metal hatch, sliding a panel aside. Tony crouched down beside it, muttering to himself as he stuck his head inside the machine and started poking about. For a while, Steve wandered around the space, examining everything that was new and strange, none of which made any sense to him. Eventually he settled on one of the stool by the work bench and lost track of time watching Tony as he worked, muttering endlessly to himself. 

“I need JARVISon this.” He said to no one in particular, but Steve responded anyway, taking the helmet from the suit and passing it over to Tony. 

“Sir, the energy signature I picked up before appears in greater concentration here.” JARVIS informed him after a quick scan. 

“Uh huh. So is this the source or is there just more of it here? And can you identify what it is?” A long pause followed in which Tony sat back on his feet, waiting for JARVIS’ response. 

“Inconclusive.  I can not determine if this machine is the source, and the signature matches nothing I currently have on file.” 

“Any idea how it works?” 

“None. But all accounts, you are correct. This machine should not work, and the core should not be viable.” 

“Well I'll be damned.” Tony huffed, standing up and removing the helmet, setting it down on one of the work benches. 

“Maybe talking will help.” Ryn made his way over to the side of the machine to where a small typewriter style keyboard sat, entered a few words and then waited. A second later, a thin needle that to Tony looked like a polygraph needle began to scratch. 

_Good day. Strangers?_

 “This is unbelievable.” Tony muttered,  leaning forward against the desk, amazement on his face and confusion evident in the tension of his shoulders. “Alright buddy, buckle in. I've got some questions for you.”

  _Yes, answer queries._  

“I haven't really got the langauge patterns sorted. It didn't seem like the most important thing.” Ryn apologised. Tony waved him off and once more picked up the suit helmet and pulled up a stool. “I have work to finish, I'll leave you to it. If you need anything all don't hesitate to find me.” Steve thanked him sincerely, but Tony was already gone, throwing himself head first into his search with the single minded devotion that Steve had come to know.

 Knowing that at this point, he’d get nothing else from Tony, not while he was hell bent on something like this strange new device they’d found in Ryn’s possession, Steve opted to do some recon, exploring their new surroundings. 

The tower was huge. Rather too large, in fact, given that it seemed Ryn was the only one who lived there. The extra bedrooms and other spaces located on the higher levels were untouched and undisturbed save for the two rooms which Ryn had very quickly prepared for them. From the window, Steve could see out across the plain back the way they had come and into the mountains that stood, foreboding, in the distance. Out on the other side he could see into the town that they hadn’t spotted before, rows of low buildings visible on the edge of his sightlines. 

On the one hand, vast emptiness and on the other, civilization that even from a distance felt so unfamiliar it ached. His pulse quickened suddenly and a wave of nausea rolled through him, his stomach feeling like it was twisting itself into knots. In the back of his mind he recognised the feeling of fear and dread for what is was, but that didn’t stop the sudden onslaught of emotion., Steve turned and fled the room, running back downstairs searching for something -- anything -- to divert his attention. He found himself down in a large kitchen, and this, at least, felt familiar; here he could busy himself digging through the cupboards, falling into old habits and familiar steps until he ended up with something that maybe approximated the appearance and colour of coffee. 

Still feeling out of sorts, Steve let his feet carry him back downstairs to find Tony sitting on the floor, surrounded by ribbons of paper covered in writing from BIT. Beside him Tony had the helmet and was desperately trying to plug something into it, swearing under his breath.  Wordlessly, Steve dropped to the floor beside him and passed over one of the cups. Tony took it without thinking, tossing back a gulp and instantly sputtered. 

“What the hell is this?” He spat, glaring down at the offending liquid. 

“Um.. I don’t actually know.” Steve admitted, sniffing his own cup suspiciously. “I think it’s the closest thing I could find in the kitchen to coffee. At least… they looked and smelled like coffee beans.” Grimacing, Tony took another tentative sip. 

“It’s definitely coffee...ish.” He grudgingly admitting. “But it’s probably the worst swill I’ve ever tasted.” 

“I’ve watched you take a day old cup out of Clint’s hands and chug it without flinching.” 

“Coffee doesn’t last that long in the tower.” Tony protested against Steve’s raised eyebrow. “That was different!” A different tactic that Steve responded to only with a hint of a chuckle. Morosely, Tony drew his knees up to his chest. “It’s different.” 

Different, because the motion of Steve pressing coffee into his hand while he was on a spree, arm deep in wires was something second nature, a ritual they both completed without a second thought and the bitter, burnt taste of the drink was a sharp snap back to the reality that whatever this was, it wasn’t home.

 “Take a break from this, get some sleep, start fresh in the morning.” Steve encouraged, bumping their shoulders together. 

“I can’t.” Tony insisted, setting down the mug and picking up the nest of something that approximated wires. 

“Tony-” He pushed, and Tony gripped the helmet a tighter. 

“I can’t. I need to get JARVIS connected to BIT somehow. I have to. But I can’t get any of this shit to work. Nothing makes sense, nothing connects and I don’t have what I need to make it work. I’m a fucking genius and I can’t figure this out.” There was a desperation to his tone that Steve had seldom heard before, but he backed off, waiting quietly until Tony found it in himself to continue. 

“He’s spent his whole life connected to everything. To the network, to the world, to Dummy and Butterfingers and You. Even when-” his voice tightened ever so slightly and he picked up a small screwdriver, working away at one of the small panels on the back of the helmet. “Even when I was gone, he still had someone. He’s never been completely and totally alone like this before.” Tony’s hands were shaking, the screwdriver slipping and he cussed again. Reaching over Steve closed his hands around Tony’s and held it still.

 “Go to bed. Take the helmet with you. The scanners are still working. Take it upstairs with you and JARVIS can keep an eye on you there and he won’t be alone. There’s a town near by, we can head out there tomorrow and maybe you can find something to help. Something Ryn doesn’t have down here.” Looking up from his work Tony let out a shaky breath and nodded, setting down the tools and standing, holding the helmet close to his chest. 

Later, when Steve was staring up at the ceiling unable to sleep he wondered if, across the hall, Tony was still laying awake too trying to solve the impossible problem. He wondered if the instance of JARVIS back home was working as furiously to find Tony as Tony was to take care of the instance here, knowing in his gut that of course he was. Tomorrow. Tomorrow they’d figure it out. They’d always figure it out.

 

* * *

 

The next day had Tony up the crack of dawn, pacing around the study Ryn had first brought them too. The helmet of the suit he’d placed carefully on one of the small tables as he poked through the shelves. “What I wouldn’t give to have all this somewhere we could actually synthesise it.” Tony murmured out loud for JARVIS’s benefit, pulling a book of what looked like technical specs and theory down and flicking through it. “There’s an entire damn library here and I can’t make any damn sense of it.” 

“It must be incredibly frustrating.” Ryn’s voice pulled his attention and Tony quickly snapped the book shut, looking a little sheepish. “Don’t worry about it.” Ryn waved him off, “Read as much as you want in here. I can try my best to explain but...” 

“But there’s a colossal difference between my understanding of science and yours.” Tony finished. 

“Yes, exactly. To you, the core for BIT defies everything you know, but to me it’s everything I know, all the rules of my understanding of my world and it’s energy woven together to create something. And your suit. I don’t understand how such a thing is possible.” 

“Well there are a lot of people in my world that have tried to do what I’ve done and haven’t been able to. So don’t feel too bad.” 

“I don’t.” Ryn said, tilting his head slightly. “But I’m certain that were our positions reversed and I was the one lost I would feel quite differently.” Reaching across the table he opened the book again to the page that had caught Tony’s attention. 

“You’re an innovator.” Tony said and Ryn hummed in response. 

“I like being up here, away from the noise and distractions. I like figuring things out, understanding my world. I like discovering and creating things to make life better. The core for example. I’m working on a way to take that and transform it to integrate with the mechanical systems that run the city for greater efficiency. I’m hoping that BIT can maybe help take over some of the control. Right now, the city requires round the clock monitoring to make sure that everything runs smoothly. The city maintenance engineers do good work, but it can be tough and exhausting. I’d like to make it easier if I could.”

“Well, if BIT is any indication, you’re well on your way.” Tony assured him, flicking to a new page and pausing. “What are these?” He asked pointing to a drawing of a tiny multi-legged clockwork creature. 

“I call them watchers.” Ryn beamed, leaning in over the book. “They were a precursor to BIT. Sort of. I mean, they don’t work the same way, not really. But they have a basic... programme I guess you can say. They follow a set of instructions, they make basic decisions and have a very rudimentary adaptation algorithm. If you go into town, you’ll probably see them. I’ve lent quite a few to the engineers. They do sweeps of the city and check for maintenance issues.”

 “So when you get the cores connected and get BIT taking some of the load they should should be able to integrate.” Tony added, quickly picking up on where Ryn was going with this plan. 

“Exactly. The whole thing will obviously still need oversight, but it’ll reduce the margin of error drastically and increase the overall efficiency. The city... it could really use something good right now, and I’d like to give it to them.” Ryn said wistfully. 

“It’s ambitious, I’ll give you that. But you look like you’ve got a handle on what you’re doing and your work is impressive. Even if it doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.” Tony said truthfully, happy to acknowledge good work when he saw it. “But, speaking of the city, I need to go there and look for some stuff, and I could use your help. I want to get JARVIS connected to BIT so they can communicate but the tech difference is proving to be a damn pain in my ass. I think I need to cobble together some kind of franken-adaptor that'll work for data transfer.”

 “I think we can probably figure that out. I’ll show you around and take you to where I usually get my parts from. Hopefully, we’ll find something that’ll work for you.” 

“I’m sure we will, I’ve watched him make marvels out of workshop scraps.” Steve spoke from his spot leaning against the door, startling both men who’d missed his arrival. 

“Cap, hey.” Tony said quickly, leaning back in his chair. “Uh... morning.” 

“Morning to you too.” He said, finally stepping into the room. 

“Right, then it’s settled. I have a few things of my own that I need to pick up. Give me a moment and we’ll be off.”

 

* * *

 

The last hints of sunrise had faded and the morning sun had burned off the mist from the road as the three set out down the road in a contraption that Ryn had cobbled together which basically amounted to a bike pulling a covered cart and vaguely resembled a rickshaw.   

“Mush, Cap!” Tony called from his spot settled in the back with Ryn as Steve grunted at him and pushed off peddling. 

“How are you moving so fast?” Ryn called over the rush of the wind as Steve picked up speed. 

“Steve’s not exactly your average human.” Tony explained, stretching out his legs and reclining in the back. 

“That is obvious. These speeds, it’s a feat no human should be capable of. The drive usually takes me upwards of thirty minutes. Longer if the weather is bad or I’m pulling a load.” 

“Yeah Steve’ll get us there in half the time, easy. Show off.”  Steve grunted again in response and pushed faster, mostly to humour Tony but from behind him Ryn gave a whoop of delight.  The trees moved past in a blur and eventually thinned out until they rounded a corner and found themselves pulling up in front of the gates of a small city. Really more of a large town in Tony’s opinion, but, hey, Manhattan probably wasn’t a fair point of comparison. Just before the gates Steve slowed to a halt and climbed off as Tony and Ryn clambered off the back of the cart.

 “Thank you.” Ryn gasped in admiration, shaking Steve’s hand. “You are truly a force to be reckoned with.” A hint of red crept into Steve’s cheeks and he brushed it off as Ryn took the cart and walked it into the city, Steve and Tony following quickly beside him. 

It was a short walk along the narrow cobblestone streets before they opened up onto an open square with rows of shops and a maze of alleys that darted off the sides, twisting and winding behind the buildings. A tiny little creature scuttled in front of Tony, pausing long enough to poke at his foot with a tiny metal leg before disappearing in a hurry. 

“That was one of the Watchers.” Ryn explained as Tony stared off to where it disappeared into the crowd, itching to go after it. “They check in at their base when they have information or when they need winding. The points on their front legs work a little like the writing needle on BIT. But their vocabulary is very limited. They write in a basic code, not words. Just enough to convey locations and the problem they’ve found. It’s simple, but it works.”

 Tony nodded his understanding and Ryn motioned them to follow him across the square and down one of the side streets. “The woman who has what we need, Olga, she’s very good at locating hard to find parts and things. If she doesn’t have it, she can probably get it for you. Over the years she has  supplied me with most of the machinery that I have, and she’s very well connected to the other traders in the field.” 

“Just the person I need.” Tony responded. “Though I’m hoping that I really won’t need anything hard to get. Hell, I’m just hoping I can find something that’ll work at all so maybe the two of them together can figure out how the hell we’re going to get home.” 

“Well, here’s hoping.” Ryn said, coming to a stop in front of of a door. The little bell hung above it rang as they stepped into a small shop, walls lined floor to ceiling with mechanical odds and ends. Tony’s eyes widened at the sight and he stepped over to the nearest shelf, peering down at a row of metal casings.

 “Ryn! Give a woman some warning next time,” called the owner from behind a counter that appeared to double as a work bench. Her greying hair was tied back in a loose knot and her fingers bore the same dark smudges under the nails that Tony’s frequently did, the kind that only came from hours of hard work with one’s hands. Sleeves rolled up to her elbows she leaned against the counter, gave the two strangers a nod of approval. “They're a good looking pair.”

 “Ryn didn't say his contact was skilled and beautiful.” Tony grinned in reply, nodding to the project spread out across the workbench. 

“Sucking up doesn't mean I'll get you a better deal.” Grabbing a rag she quickly wiped off her hands and motioned Ryn over to the counter. “Nearly done with that part you asked me for. Didn't expect you back for a couple days yet.” 

“I didn't plan to be back, but my friends needed something. This is Steve and Tony.” Olga turned her gaze back towards Tony and Steve, studying them with a little closer scrutiny. 

“Friends, eh. Something tells me that ain't the whole story. Alright then, let's have it, what do you need?” For the journey Tony had kept the helmet in a bag slung over his shoulder to keep it safe and hidden, protective instinct kicking in.  Stepping up to the counter now he dropped the bag and pulled it open. 

“I need to make a cable. Something that’ll connect this to Ryn’s machines and transmit information.” Olga whistled low at the sight of the sight of the shiny red and gold helmet and immediately picked it up to study it. 

“What the hell is this?” She asked in wonder, turning the helmet over in her hands and peering inside. 

“You would not believe the number of times I have said that in the last twenty four hours.” Tony’s response was flat but the corner or his mouth turned up in what Steve recognized as a show of pride in his work. 

“So you boys ain't from around here.” 

Steve stepped up to the counter alongside Tony and shook his head. “No... we really aren't.” 

“Right. So near as I can tell, getting your device connected up to Ryn’s... project, that's only step one. After that we have to figure out how to bend space and get you home.” She spoke casually, as if it were as simple as taking a walk through the park on a Sunday afternoon and not like it a near impossible feat beyond comprehension. 

Tony breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god. You actually understand what's happening here and you don't think we're crazy people.” 

“Oh, make no mistake, I definitely think you're insane.” She responded, motioning to the helmet.  “You made a talking helmet and you accidently got yourself warped through space. But it's the kind of crazy I like. And it's the kind of crazy I know a thing or two about.”

 At that Tony perked up, “Sounds like a story there. What do you know?”

  
“A long story for another day.” She said cryptically  “It’s enough for you to know that I know enough that I can probably help you find your way home. But it might take some time.” 

“Well for now, I’ll settle for solving this first problem.” He said motioning to the helmet  Humming to herself, Olga took the helmet back and set into work, Tony jumping in beside her. It worked about as well as could be expected, considering that each only understood half the project.

 “What the hell kind of connection is this?” Olga muttered, squinting at the small wires Tony had pulled out of the back of the helmet to plug into what they’d finally decided to just call the adapter. 

“A connection that actually makes goddamn sense.” Tony spat back, struggling to bend and shape tiny pieces of metal into something that could house the wires and hopefully convert the signal. 

“You and I see things making sense very differently.” Olga huffed as she worked on putting together a working replica of the port they intended to use on BIT. 

“Yeah, welcome to my life.” Tony muttered, swearing under his breath as he nicked himself on a piece of metal. “This would be easier with a soldering iron, a welder and angle grinder.”

 “Yeah, well what you have is the cutter, and it’s the best damn one you’re going to find.” 

“Oh, you mean the thing that’s apparently powered by a rock?” Tony said as he dropped his tools on the counter. “Because really, I can not believe that all of this, everything that you’re powering, you’re using magic rocks. I feel like I just walked into a YA novel.” 

“You know, your boy has a real mouth on him,” Olga commented, glancing up at Steve who’d been sitting off to the side, watching as the pair of them worked. He opened his mouth to protest that Tony wasn’t really his guy but the words didn’t quite make it out. And from the look she gave him before pulling her attention back to the work, she wouldn't have believed him anyway. 

“It’s part of his charm.” Steve instead said dryly.  The work itself was slow going, Ryn offering his own advice but by the early afternoon they’d come up with something that Tony was mostly satisfied with. The mock up box was nothing like BIT, but the theory was the same and when Tony had plugged JARVIS in and held his breath, the AI had come back with a positive response.

 “J thinks he should be able to use this franken device to interface with BIT.” Tony said, breathing a sigh of relief and finally slumping over on his stool. “I don’t know how much extra processing power it’ll give him, but at least he’ll have someone to talk to.” Steve appeared at Tony’s side, resting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. 

“Then that’s what matters. That’s what you set out to do after all.” Tony nodded in agreement but the pinched look around the corners of his eyes didn’t disappear.

 “What do we owe you?” He asked, figuring at the least he could barter his own skill away. 

“Take your new toy and go.” Olga shooed them. “Ryn and I are far past the point of owing each other. He and I will sort it out at some point. It’s a beautiful afternoon, you’ve all been working hard. Take a stroll around town, show them the sights. I have a few things I need to check, some work I need to do and maybe, just maybe if you give me a few days I might be able to come up with some answers for you about how the hell we can get you boys back where you belong. Not that I don’t love having you around. You certainly improve the scenery. Even if you are mouthy.” Steve and Tony both thanked her profusely, as Tony carefully packed up the helmet and the box in the bag. “Mind you keep that flashy helmet head of yours out of sight. There are a lot of people who’d be more than happy to take it off your hands without so much as a thank you very much, if you catch my drift. Be careful who you trust.”

 Stepping back outside, Tony squinted against the bright light of the sun. The afternoon had grown hot, but the breeze that came down from the mountains took the edge off. As they made their way back through the narrow alley back towards the square Tony pulled the bag up further on his shoulder, holding it close to his side. 

“So... departure time.” He said anxiously as they arrived back to the cart. Rin paused and glanced back across the square. 

“There are a few things I’d like to pick up.” He said apologetically. “Just give me a few minutes?”  The last thing Tony wanted was to linger now that he had a solution to put to the test, but there wasn’t really a damn thing he could do about it. It was the least he could do to accommodate the man who’d taken them in. 

“Come on Tony.” Steve encouraged. “We can go see if anything else catches your eye.”

 Reluctantly Tony followed as Ryn made his way into the crowd. As he went about his business Steve and Tony wandered a ways behind, pausing at the artisan’s trucks so Steve could admire some of the craftwork. Every time that Tony would start absently tapping his fingers against his leg Steve managed to find another metal craft or tool to point out to Tony to take his attention at least for a few moments. Which seemed to be working.  Tony’s fingers traced over the strange shapes, holding them up for closer scrutiny. Everything, he had to admit, was amazingly well made. Whoever these people in this world were, they were incredible craftsman. He’d never admit it aloud, but he could learn a thing or two from some of them. 

Ryn was a few stalls over from them, deep in conversation with a vendor when from the corner of his eye Tony saw a small child dart out towards him and tug at the hem of their host’s shirt.

 “Mister Ryn? Mister Ryn we need your help.” She pleaded, her eyes wide. Ryn stopped himself mid sentence and turned to face her. With his full attention on her the child pressed on. “The main water pump at the hall has been broken for almost two days now.” Dropping everything he was doing Ryn took the child’s leading hand, scurrying across the square with Tony and Steve on his feet.

 “How come maintenance hasn't been around to fix it?” Ryn questioned. The girl shrugged in reply. 

“Said they're really busy. Last few days there's been all kinds of stuff they've found the Watchers haven't reported.” 

“What do you mean, ‘stuff that the Watchers haven’t reported’?” The girl had led them to the side of one of the largest buildings on the square and through to the back where a man was bent over the most convoluted pumping system that Tony have ever seen, hoses and gears running in half a dozen different directions. 

“Ryn, I’m glad you’re here.” He said with a gruff voice, pushing himself up on his knees. The two launched into deep conversation that was probably relevant to the problem at hand but which Tony tuned out as he walked around the machine. This felt different than everything else he’d encountered here, a simpler kind of problem.. This wasn’t trying to make two things that didn’t fit together work, this wasn’t trying to fix JARVIS, this was just a machine that didn’t work, this was just simple mechanics. This was something he could figure out. 

It took a moment to trace the tubing back to where it entered the ground but from there he followed the mechanism, studying the way it fit together, poking it to figure out how all the parts moved. Piece by piece, he broke it down in his mind into something that made sense, starting at one end of the system and working his way to the other. This close to the mountains there had to be all kinds of underground streams to tap into. If Tony has to hazard a guess he’d assume the main plant drew it up to the central reserve and the small stations like this pulled it from there around the city.  Leaning around a post further inside the inner workings and there, there it was. A problem so small untrained eyes would have missed it. A poorly stocked tool kit lay open on the ground beside but it had all he needed. A small hammer, a bit of leverage, a set of calipers, a few small adjustments and - 

“There. Give that a shot.”  He said, interrupting the conversation Ryn was having with the man as he pulled himself out from inside the machine and wiping the sweat off his brow. A moment later the whirr of mechanisms starting up filled the air and slowly, ever so slowly the pump began working itself again.  A small cheer drew his attention and for the first time Tony noticed the small crowd, a couple of bystanders, a city guard, the girl, Ryn, Steve all watching in amazement.

 “How did you do that?” Steve asked, peering in at Tony’s handiwork. 

“Uh.i. you know. Wasn’t that hard. Few of your gears inside were out of sync, just needed some calibration. One of those little support pin things had slipped.” 

“I thought you didn’t-” Ryn started before Tony cut him off,

 “I don’t. Your tech is still weird and flies in the face of the science I know and it doesn’t like playing nice with my stuff because god forbid you have something common for me to work with,  like a damn USB port or whatever. But this? This is simple.” He said, eyeing the pump. “This is just a basic machine, and at the end of the day I’m a mechanic. So this I can do.” Dropping the tools in the box Tony turned on his heels and headed back towards the cart across the square, patting the kid on the shoulder as he passed by. “Thanks, short stuff.” He said without looking back. 

The ride back to the tower was far more subdued, with Tony lost in his own head and Ryn itching to get back to his study to troubleshoot the newly discovered problems with the Watchers. 

“There’s no reason they should have stopped reporting.” Ryn said out loud as Steve pedaled them back. “They’re still returning for charging and tune ups, there aren’t any missing, but they aren’t reporting.”  As soon as they arrived back they parted ways, Ryn heading up to the study and Tony headed back down the shop, his new box of goodies under his arm and Steve on his heels.

 “You wanna give me a hand with this, Cap?” He asked, dropping the box on the workbench. Cradling the helmet under his arm Tony carried it across the room and set it on the small makeshift desk that housed BIT’s output unit. Carefully Steve pulled the makeshift bundle of wires and cables that Tony and Olga had concocted and laid them out across the desk. “Pass me that thing that passes for a soldering iron, would you?” Tony asked as he began sliding metal into gaps, his brow furrowed in concentration. “Can you hold this bit here? Need both my hands.” Sliding in beside Tony steve gentle held the pieces he was working on, Tony brushing against him as he leaned against the desk. “Yeah, just there, perfect, Cap.” Having spent the better of the afternoon watching Tony work Steve had at least a basic idea of what Tony was doing. They two moved around each other fluidly, Steve anticipating Tony’s needs as they two worked their way down the line of connections. “You ever thought about becoming a full time lab assistant,  Rogers? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Dummy -- and don’t quote me on that or I’ll deny it -- but you’re more useful.” 

“Well, I have two arms. That helps.” Steve responded, “But I’m nowhere near as charming.” 

“Don't sell yourself that short, Cap. You’re plenty charming. Here, I think we’re ready to give this a shot.” Standing up and stretching out his shoulders, Tony ran one last check with JARVIS, who confirmed that he was more than ready. “Show time.” Tony said, and flipped the little switch on the box. For a moment nothing happened, and then soft as could be, a hum as the converter booted up and began processing. “JARVIS, how we doing in there?” 

“A moment please,” came JARVIS’ voice, sounding strained filtered through helmet. “I believe... I have a connection. Running ping test now.” A beat of silence as Tony stared intently, his eyes not moving from the helmet. Absently he reached over and took Steve’s hand, squeezing tight enough as to be uncomfortable. Steve said nothing, choosing instead to squeeze back, trying to be reassuring. Another beat and then, “Sir, I have established communication.”

_Confirmed. Connected input JARVIS._

A whoop of pure glee from Tony as his face split into a wide grin. “Oh, thank fuck.” He said, sinking back down onto the stool “JARVIS, run a full diagnostic, I was to know what kind of capabilities we’re dealing with here.” 

“Of course. It will take several hours to complete, however.” 

“Take your time, buddy,” Tony said, waving him off. The tension that Tony had carried in his shoulders all day visibly fell away in the face of the high of having managed this one seemingly impossible thing. “Yeah, yeah, this is good. We can do this.”

‘Course we can.” Steve said, bumping against Tony’s shoulder. “We’ve got you.”

 

* * *

 

 

The good humour had lasted less than a day, before the cracks had started showing again. That morning, Tony had been up and in good spirits, humming to himself as he moved through the kitchen. They’d lingered over breakfast together, Steve coaxing Tony out of bed with fresh eggs. Dealing with the tech was bad enough, so Steve honestly wasn’t banking on Tony wanting to deal with weird kitchens and the hassle of, you know, making food on top of getting weird machines to work. But by the time the afternoon had rolled around, Tony had been back to pacing around the tower. Steve had recognised that he was working his way up to something, and let Tony stew on it until he couldn’t stand it anymore. 

“Out with it Tony,” Steve said sharply, breaking the heavy silence that had settled between them. Tony stopped mid step, mouth half open and eyes blinking.  For a moment, Steve half expected Tony to brush him off and insist he didn’t want anything, what are you talking about Cap, I’m thinking.

 Instead he blurted, “I need to go back to town. Right now.” 

Steve stared at his friend for a moment, not speaking, waiting for Tony to press onward. After a beat, he obliged. 

“I need to talk to Olga,” he said. “I’m at a stand still; I don’t even know where to start in trying to get us home. JARVIS has a bit more capability now that I’ve networked him with BIT, but I can’t run through the variables on a dozen different theories in any reasonable length of time. I need another way to narrow down the possibilities, and for that I actually need to know what the hell happened to get us here. And talking to her seems like the best place to start.”

 “No point.” Ryn said, breezing through the room in a hurry, packing a few things into a bag slung over his shoulder. “She sent word this morning. Left first thing, she’s gone to do some digging, see if she can’t find some answers and figure out how to replicate what happened to bring you here.” 

“She seems to know a lot about this.” Steve said pointedly. 

“She does. She’s the only person I know who’s crossed before,” he responded in a tone that was far too casual to be anything other than cautious. 

“Both of you failed to mention that.” Steve responded. Beside him Tony’s arms were folded over his chest, shoulders drawn tight under his air of practised indifference.

 “She doesn’t exactly advertise it. There are a lot of people who would take interest for entirely the wrong reasons.” 

“Yeah, I might know how that goes.” Tony said flatly. 

“Regardless, it was years ago, she was working manipulating the energy signatures of the crystals with some colleagues a ways from here. Something... unexpected happened and she ended up passing through the veil. Fortunately, she had one of the modified crystals with her, and more by good luck and sheer will than anything else, she managed to get home.” 

“Well shit.” Tony huffed dropping his arms. “I was hoping for something a little more exact than ‘find a magic rock and hope the power of friendship will guide us,”    

“I’m sorry that I can’t give you better answers yet.” Ryn apologised. Closing up the bag he slung it over his shoulder and straightened up. “I’m going to do some investigating of my own.” 

“Great, we’ll go with you.” Tony said, eager to take off that second but Ryn shook his head. 

“Please, it’s better if you stay here.” He apologised. “What I’m doing, it’s best if I go alone. But I’ll return in a few days. A week at most. And I promise, between Olga and I, we will have answers for you. In the meantime, I have a small crystal in a box down on the workbench. It’s one of the altered ones Olga gave me to study, low power yield so I don’t accidently end up lost like she did. It doesn’t make much sense to me, but maybe with JARVIS now you can figure something out.” 

“Why are you doing this?” Steve spoke up suddenly. “Both of you, why are you going out of your way to help us?” Ryn responded with a look of confusion, like the solution to Steve’s question was obviously right in front of him and he couldn’t see it.

 “Because it’s the right thing to do. Because you need help, and we can help you. And, maybe, we get to learn something along the way, too.” He responded with a shrug. “You need help. It just so happens that this is something I don’t understand, and I hate not understanding things.”

 “That seems to be a common trait,” Steve muttered fondly. 

He wasn’t in the least bit surprised to find out that Tony resented being made to stay behind.  Ryn had left in a hurry, mindless of Tony’s protests, leaving Steve with a ranting, frustrated Stark on his hands. 

“I could have helped.” Tony grumbled, taking back up pacing around the room and findling with all the odds and ends. “I mean I’m a genius. Does no one here get that?” 

“They do, Tony.” Steve assured him. “And I’m sure that if you could be more help with them, he’d have said something. I hate it, too.” With a huff, Tony dropped the statue he was examining back on the shelf and without another word stormed back downstairs. A few minutes later, he returned fully suited up, the helmet unplugged from BIT and back on Tony’s head, Steve’s shield on his arm. 

“Enough sitting around. We’re going to do our own investigating, Cap.” Tony announced, throwing the shield over. Tony’s idea of investigating, it turned out, was flying back to the site they’d first appeared and run scans of the area looking for any residual energy signatures. Having popped into existence in the middle of the plains there was little sign that they’d been there apart from the blips Tony was getting from the scanners. There were a few beat up roads that looked like they didn’t see much traffic this far out into the wilderness, and the lack of cover meant that there was little by way of wildlife. Just an open space Tony did pass after pass over, seeking out the energy hot spots while Steve ‘helped’ which really meant just being there and keeping him company. 

“I think this is it.” Tony announced, dropping them back on on the ground in a patch that looked no different than any other patch for a mile in any direction. “There are some really weird readings here, I think this is the spot we made our grand entrance on. Hang tight, while JARVIS does his thing.   

 Once on the ground, Steve stretched his arms, tense and a bit sore from keeping them locked tightly around the suit as they flew. There was very little to see out here and even though he had the shield on his arm, he doubted there'd be much need for it. They'd see any threat long before it ever actually reached them. Tony immediately set to work with JARVIS, muttering to himself about have to recalibrate the scanners on the fly and how much easier it would be if he knew exactly what it was he was looking for. 

The tower was just visible on the horizon as Steve looked around, really looked and apart from that, there was nothing else. The city wasn't visible, and the beaten roads faded off into the horizon, or disappeared up the mountains. Steve tried to remember something, anything about the seconds before they'd ended up here, but nothing stood out. They'd been raiding a HYDRA base, looking to gather intel and dismantle an operations centre, but had instead ended up stumbling on a massive and very advanced research base. Steve and Tony had been the ones to make it down to the central lab and break in, startling the lone scientist who'd stayed behind, working furiously at a panel. In the center of the room was a large metal containment structure, housing some kind of strange device giving off an unearthly glow and a low hum of energy. It was enough to make the hairs on the back of Steve's neck stand on end. Whatever that was, they needed to shut it down. The noise of their less than subtle entrance into the lab had drawn the scientist’s attention and he’d looked up quickly. There had been surprise on his face, before it had shifted to fear and then anger as Tony had raised a hand, repulsors whining. 

“What the hell do you think you're doing Avenger?” He spat. 

“You're going to want to do yourself a favour and stand back.” Tony had said, approaching the scientist and the strange device. The man had held up his hands and taken a cautious step back, eyes darting back and forth between the glowing shape and the pair of Avengers. 

“It's not stable,” he warned, putting distance between himself and the centre of the room. 

“Then you're going to shut it down,” Steve had demanded, stepping closer. 

“I'm really, really not.” The scientist responded. He'd run out of space, backed into a control panel against the far wall with Steve and Tony blocking the way to the exit. 

“Come on, your back’s against the wall... literally in this case. We've taken your base. You're not getting out of this one.” Tony had chided, his footsteps heavy against the ground as he he came to a stop beside Steve. “Let's just make this easier on everyone.”

 “No.” The man had said simply and before either of them could react, he’d  punched a short command into the console. “This is the perfect opportunity to test our work.” 

“What-” Tony began as the man dove to the side, rolling into a small protected room off to one side of the console, as the hum in the machine grew louder and the glow expanded to fill the room. On reflex, Tony had shot a low blast from the repulsors, clipping the scientist before he made it to safety.

 “Tony what's this thing do-” Steve began, never getting the finish before a flash momentarily blinded them and a deep boom rumbled through the very core of his chest. For a second or two the whole world had felt like it was spinning and when it finally stopped and he’d opened his eyes this was what he'd seen, this wide open expanse and cold fresh air. A far cry from the sterile environment of the HYDRA lab. 

And here they were again, a couple of days later, and not exactly any closer to figuring out where they were or how to get home. The HYDRA agent had said their project was unstable. Ryn and Olga seemed to only have scratched the surface of understanding. Tony, admittedly the smartest man Steve had met, was scrambling to find traction on how to even look at the problem. And as for him... Steve huffed softly, silently berating himself. He was a soldier, a fighter. He was intelligent in his own right, even here he was picking up on things quickly enough. But this was so far outside his realm of knowledge that he was utterly useless. 

Just when he’d thought he'd gotten a handle on things and nothing could catch him off guard, this happened, and the only damn thing that felt remotely familiar, the only thing in his experience that he had to fall back on was the fact that he'd done this before. He'd woken up somewhere new, the world changed around him overnight, and rebuilt himself from the ground up. He could push himself through adapting to somewhere new. But, as he stared out across the empty expanse the realisation settled heavy on him, his chest tightening. He couldn't go back before, he couldn't go back now, he'd lose everything- 

“Hey, Steve, come here a sec?” Tony’s voice cut through the haze threatening to fill his head and suddenly Steve felt like he could breathe again. No, not everything. At least this time, if the worst happened and they couldn’t get back, he wouldn't be alone.

 

* * *

 

After that, they fell into an uneasy routine, more out of necessity and a lack of other options than anything. Every morning Steve took a run into town, more for reconnaissance than anything else. If there were going to be stuck here, he wanted to know his environment, the people, the dangers. And at least that way he felt like he was actually doing something to secure their position as opposed to hanging around the tower waiting for Tony to have some kind of breakthrough. Every day he’d return with new bits of information, things he’d seen, people he’d encountered, conversations he’d overheard and relayed the information to Tony. Tony, who, armed with the readings from the field, one of the crystals and a lab full of equipment that he didn’t really understand, buried himself in work, doing everything he could to analyse the energy signatures and come up with some kind of theory, or some way to replicate the same scenario that had landed them here in the first place. But the deeper Tony dug into the mystery of how they had been flung here, the less anything actually ended up making sense. 

“This analysis would be so much damn easier if I had something to compare all this shit  to. The readings, everything, it’s all raw data without a damn baseline.” He cursed one morning while Steve was out. 

“I apologise that I can not be of more use to you.” JARVIS’ tone was clipped in a way that Tony wasn’t used to hearing, and that, it turned out, was more unsettling than everything around him that he didn’t understand.

 “Hey, relax J; it’s not your fault.” Tony assured him, squinting at the rudimentary display that showed the results of the models that he’d been feeding into BIT through JARVIS. 

“Knowing that factors are outside my control does little to alleviate the... sense of disconnect that comes from my present situation.”

 “You miss having the others around.” Tony added, pausing in his work for a moment. 

“For my part, as much as I am able, yes.” JARVIS admitted. “As I miss having access to a wealth of information, and as I miss operating at full capacity. I have the memory of how I am meant to be operating, but I no longer posses the ability to do so and I can not simply run a self-diagnostic to solve the problem.” 

“You’re isolated, and not being able to do the things you usually do sucks.” 

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

 “Yeah I get how that goes.” Tony said, reaching out to pat the helmet. It was a stupid gesture, he knew that, but it made him feel a tiny bit better and no one ever had to know but him. “Hang in there, buddy. We’re going to get home, we’ll get you synced back up with your servers and we’ll all be fine. We’ll figure it out.” 

“Of that I have no doubt. My fate rests in the most capable hands I know.” 

“You’re just saying that ‘cause I made you and you have to say that.” Tony brushed him off but the words went straight to his heart. Sure, if something happened here JARVIS would continue to live on back in the tower like nothing had ever happened, but it wouldn’t be the same. Without the connection, without being able to sync it would be like losing a part of himself he’d never remember having in the first place. And the idea of being stuck here and losing JARVIS... Tony shuddered at the notion, unable to accept it, and grateful that at least the armour was the safest housing possible for JARVIS to occupy. 

That night, after Steve had returned and settled in to keep Tony company in the shop as he always did, the atmosphere was far more subdued as Tony’s mood shifted and continued to drop. Steve began bringing back things from town along with his reports, trying sweets from the bakery and trinkets he found from shops in his effort to lift Tony’s spirits. But the more he tried to engage, the more Tony pulled away from him, his temper growing shorter and shorter. It was just the stress, Steve reminded himself, but when he left Tony in the shop alone and climbed back up to his room, Steve couldn’t shake the feeling that he was losing Tony, and that if he failed to find away to get them home, Steve might never get him back.

 

* * *

 

Tony’s work was interrupted by a soft knock against the open door and the gentle sound of Steve’s footsteps against the hard floor of the work space. e stilled for a moment before going right back to work without turning around. 

“You’ve been down here for two days straight. You didn’t even make it upstairs to sleep last night, I found you passed out at the desk when I left this morning.” Steve called, carrying a plate and setting it down on the bench beside Tony.

“Not hungry.” Tony responded shortly, refusing to turn away from his work. For an instant everything felt so familiar, so perfect, to Steve, that it ached. Felt like if he closed his eyes then maybe -- just maybe -- they’d be back at the tower and Dummy would appear at his side bumping against his elbow. But the air in the room was all wrong, the machines sounded nothing like home and everything was stone and metal instead of the bright open space and glass that he’d come to appreciate and love.

 “Come on, Tony, I cooked up some new stuff I got in town earlier. I don’t know what some of it is, the plants are a bit weird but it doesn’t taste too bad.” Steve coaxed, hoping to at least get Tony to look at him.

 “JARVIS run the simulation again with the new variables.” 

Steve’s grip on the workbench tightened, fingers pressed against the hard wooden surface. “Tony will you at least talk to me for a second?” 

The plea was met with the response of a hard clatter as Tony quickly pushed himself up, knocking the stool over in the process. “No. You know why? Because I don’t have time to talk to you.” Tony snapped, drawing himself up and folding his arms over his chest. “Because unlike you, I am pouring every damn minute I have into figuring out how the hell to get us back. Because unlike you, I actually want to get home.” 

Steve froze. For a moment he almost wished that Tony had slapped him, certain that it would have stung less than the malice in his tone. 

“You think-” 

“I know.” Tony cut him off immediately, barreling onward. “Ever since we got here you haven’t cared at all. You haven’t been the least bit concerned about trying to get back. You haven’t even mentioned wanting to go home. Nothing in this goddamn place makes sense and it doesn’t even phase you. You’re just soaking it all up, throwing yourself in head first and loving it.” 

Steve opened his mouth to say something, to protest with the anger coiling in his stomach but nothing came, and Tony was charging forward, heedless in any case. “Whatever, you don’t care that we might very well be stuck here forever, I don’t care. You do your thing Cap. But don’t you dare stand in the way of me getting us home.” Tony’s hand came to rest against the helmet, fingers curled possessively as Steve finally managed to bring himself to respond. Without thinking, he grabbed the plate from the bench and threw it across the room, where it shattered against the wall.

“Go to hell, you arrogant prick.” He snapped and a second later he was gone. 

 

* * *

 

Running was a mistake. Check that, leaving the tower when the sun was dipping below the horizon was a mistake, running however... The air in his lungs, the burn in his legs as he pushed himself harder and harder, that was the only damn thing that made sense, the only thing that blotted out the noise in his head.

_You don’t care if we’re stuck here forever._

He’d vaguely been aware that Tony had kept talking. He remembered yelling back, but then it was all white noise, the room had felt too small, his chest had felt too tight and a surge of hot anger had engulfed him. The next moment he’d been aware it was long after he’d left the tower and he’d been focused on the sensation of his feet pounding across the plain, as if every step would bring him closer to something that maybe made sense. By the time he slowed down, night had truly fallen, the tower was a dot in the distance and the foothills loomed up in front of him, dark black shapes against the inky sky lit up by a sea of stars. Breathing heavily, Steve came to a stop and dropped to his knees. The grass was soft and cool under his his fingers and he managed one deep breath before a shudder rolled through him and he sobbed, a heavy ugly noise that wracked his whole body. 

All Steve had wanted to do was to not lose himself along with everything else. He’d been there before, done that before, survived. And after he’d fought to claw his way back out of that hole, he’d sworn he never wanted to feel that way again. Over time, it had gotten easier and somewhere along the way, Tony became a big part of that. Here, he was forced to confront the harsh reality that he’d have to start all over, again, and also the quietly terrifying realisation that he wasn’t sure he had it in him to do that. But if he had to try... At least he wasn’t alone. Or so he’d thought. Until now... Now he didn’t even have Tony to fall back on.

 A bitter, unwanted sob escaped him and he almost didn’t hear the tell tale sound of the repulsors until Tony was dropping down beside him, the glow of the suit lighting up the night around them. Steve tensed, pushing himself to his feet, but refused to turn. He couldn't look at Tony, not like this. Not so raw and open and utterly lost. But Tony was having none of that. 

“What the hell were you thinking?” Tony snapped, his voice filtering through the helmet. There was so much he could say and yet all his words had disappeared.  He said nothing until he felt the metal hand clamp down on he shoulder and pull him around. The light from the chest piece lent a soft glow to Steve's face, enough to see the redness around his eyes and the tracks left by the tears on his face.  “Shit, Steve-” 

“Don't.” Steve’s voice caught in his throat but he pressed on. “Don't say a damn thing to me right now, Tony. I don't want to hear it.” Tony physically recoiled but his hand stayed firmly planted on Steve's shoulder.

 “No, you've been gone for hours. You're thirty miles from the tower. JARVIS and I were losing it because we couldn't map you. You have no idea what kind of creatures live in these hills. You didn't even grab a damn jacket and you're freezing so, no, we're damn well going to talk about this, Cap.” Steve brushed Tony's hand off his shoulder and folded his arms over his chest but Tony wasn't dissuaded. “I've seen you angry before, Cap. God knows I've seen what you can do to a punching bag but-” Tony shook his head. He'd seen Steve get angry with people, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind and make that known but this was something else, something almost terrifying. Added to the now visible blotchyness of Steve's face, it had Tony’s stomach tying itself into knots. 

“Did it not occur to you that maybe I just wanted space?” 

“Of course it did!” Tony yelled, losing his own cool. “It occurred to me right around the time you started breaking stuff and telling me to go to hell. But did it occur to you that maybe you taking off into the middle of the night, alone in the middle of nowhere might freak me out? Did it occur to you that when I realised you'd left, and then I couldn't find you that I was terrified that I'd lost the only thing that makes me feel sane in a god awful place where nothing makes sense?” 

The laugh from Steve at that was harsh and jarring in the quiet night, completely without humour. “I have no idea what that would be like.” He said flatly, staring hard across at Tony. “I have no idea what's it's like to be afraid that you've lost someone. Or to lose your only link to something. Or to have the one bright spot that makes you think maybe, just maybe you can bear the thought of having to build a life over, again-” shaking his head Steve turned away and looked back over the hills and up to the sky. 

“-tell you that you don't care about getting home.” Tony finished after a moment of silence. “Steve…” 

“Don't. Tony, just don't. Not right now.” 

It went against everything that he was, every fiber of his being, but Tony remained where he was. The minutes ticked by and he didn't move, didn't say a word, hardly dared to breathe. He wasn't going to leave Steve out here, no way in hell, and nor was he going to bring him back in against his will. If Steve wanted to wait he would damn well wait. The temperature continued to drop as night truly settled in and at last Steve let out a soft, barely audible breath of a sigh. Taking that as tentative permission, Tony released the suit and stepped out, closing the distance between them and reaching to rest a hand on Steve's back. 

“I'm sorry,” he said, and Steve's shoulders sagged as he turned around. 

“I get it, believe me. I actually know how terrifying it is, being here. I know how much you hate that nothing makes sense. But just because I'm not reacting the way you are, or the way that you want me to, doesn't mean I'm not just as scared as you.” Letting Tony into his space now Steve looked down at him, eyes pleading for understanding. “I've put so much into building a life again, I'm terrified of losing it. Having you here... I’m just as desperate to get home as you are.” Reaching around Tony cupped the back of Steve's neck and drew him down, pressing their foreheads together.

 “We'll get back, Steve.” Tony promised softly. 

Huffing a small laugh Steve brought a hand to rest on Tony's hip and closed his eyes. “I'm sorry I snapped on you like that.” Tony quickly shook his head and tightened his grip on Steve ever so slightly. 

“No, you were right. I was being self-centered.” 

“That still doesn't give me the right to do what I did.” Steve's protested, opening his eyes and pulling back enough to look at Tony again. 

“Well come on, less apologising and more getting back. It's freezing out here, you're shivering, and JARVIS is probably getting anxious to finish the models I was trying to feed into him. 

“How's he holding up?” Steve asked, glancing over at the suit with concern. 

“Not great.” Tony admitted. “He's never been cut off, not like this. He's always been part of the network,  always had Dummy and Butterfingers and You. He's never lost processors like this. It's like if you or I were stuck without cell or sat connection, but then we also couldn't move as quickly. Like it took you ten times as long to walk somewhere.” 

“So he's miserable. Alright, let's go figure out how to get him home.”

 

* * *

 

Later, after Tony had flown them back to the tower, after Steve had found that Tony had already cleaned up the mess in the shop, after they'd made tea and drunk it by the fire to warm up and we're about to turn in, Tony had taken his wrist before he could turn away, stepped into his space and leaned up to brush his lips against Steve's cheek. “Good night, Steve,” he'd said softly, breath ghosting across his skin. 

Now, lying in bed, burrowed deep under his blankets Steve could still feel Tony's lips against his skin, he could feel Tony's presence at his back, wordlessly watching out for him until he was ready to respond, their shared heat as they stood side by side in the cold night. He drifted off with a smile on his lips, confident again that they'd pull through this together, that somehow they'd make it be okay. 

When he woke it was to the sound of frantic knocking and Ryn’s panicked voice as he burst into the room. “Steve! Get up now, Tony's in trouble!”

 

* * *

 

It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. Tony had woken up just after sunrise, only a few hours after they’d finally gone to bed but his mind was already kicking into full gear. Despite the fact that they’d sorted through things there was still a knot of guilt settled in Tony’s stomach.  So he’d set out to the market. Even a messed up place like this, there had to be eggs and cheese. He’d make Steve a peace offering omelette, that always ended well right? It was going well, right up until the point where one of those little clockwork lizard things scuttled past him. Watchers Ryn had called them. They were clearly mechanised with at least a rudimentary AI -- Tony refused to call it enchanted an enchantment -- and he just needed to know how they worked. Stooping, he scooped it from off the ground and held it up to his face.  “Hey little guy.” Tony cooed as the little watcher wiggled in his hand. “How do you work?” The watcher responded with a series of sharp clicks, it's feet tapping against the stone  “I have no idea what you're saying. You want to come back and meet JARVIS? Bet he'd understand you.” 

“Hey!” a sharp unfamiliar tone startled him and Tony spun around, finding himself face to face with one of the town guards. The man was taller and broader than Tony, dressed in the same dark uniforms they’d seen before, arms folded over his chest foreboding. “You’re the one they called the mechanic. With Ryn the other day at the water pump.” He took several steps closer to Tony, doing his level best to loom over him. Tony was having none of it.

 “So what if I am?” He challenged, pushing back against the obvious intimidation tactic. The guard was having none of it. 

“Then you’re going to have to come with me.” He said, glowering down at Tony. Taking quick stock Tony realised he wasn’t exactly in a great position. He was totally unarmed, didn’t have so much as a gauntlet with him and this guy could definitely take him down and clearly wanted to take him away. 

“Pretty sure you can’t arrest me for being me.” Tony challenged. If he was going down, he wasn’t going without a fight. 

“I don't need a reason to arrest you. Especially off the books.” 

Shit, Tony thought as the man lunged forward. The realisation quickly set in that they wanted him for something and his gut told him that he wasn’t going to like what it was. The guard grabbed his shoulder and Tony responded by digging his fingers into the man’s wrist and twisting, lashing a kick out at him. The man was having none of that, side stepping quickly and delivering a hard punch to his stomach. Tony lurched forward, gasping for breath even as he took his own swing that connected hard with the man’s jaw. Grunting, the guard stumbled back but regained his feet quickly. Charging forward, he caught Tony around the middle and slammed him back against the wall, his head hitting hard enough that for a moment he saw stars. It was long enough that he felt the man prick him with something and a moment later the world started growing hazy. 

“They’ll come…” He tried saying, words slurring together as he stumbled forward. The guard might have responded, but Tony was far too unconscious to hear it.

 

* * *

 

“What do you mean he was taken?” Steve snapped out of bed and changing seconds after Ryn had burst into his room. “And when did you get back?” 

“Late last night. I met up with Olga and we returned together. It was late so I stayed in town last night..” Ryn explained as Steve scrambled to lace his shoes. “I learned far more this week than I intended, and about more than I went looking for.” 

“Stop speaking in riddles and tell me what’s going on.” Steve snapped, have little patience to deal with anything other than straightforward information. 

“I mean that we went out looking for information about how to get you home, and ended up learning about a plot within the city. Under our very noses.” Ryn’s usual calm demeanor was replaced by a sharp edge of his own and Steve tried to reign in his own temper so they could actually get something done. “You remember the other day, the day with the water pump? And I was confused because that is the sort of thing that the watchers are designed to pick up on. They don’t just report things that are broken, the search for early warning signs so preventative maintenance can be be done before a problem even occurs. So that shouldn’t have happened. I hadn’t the time to investigate before I left but when I was out looking for information to help you, I heard whispers and rumours. So I did some digging.” Ryn shook his head, shades of despair twisted in his face. 

“So what did you learn?” Steve pressed. 

“I think... The watchers have been hijacked.” Ryn’s hands curled into fists at his side as the words came tumbling out.  “The captain of the city guard orchestrated it. He’s had someone meddle with the watchers, alter their commands so that they do what he wants. Instead of reporting on things that need to be fix, now they’re reporting on people, their movements. He’s using them to spy. I think he’s been trading in illegal goods, and he’s made a small fortune blackmailing and trading secrets.”

 “Well shit.” Steve cussed. It seemed that it didn’t matter where they ended up, it was always the same problem, the same fights, the same assholes that needed to be stood up to. “So where does Tony fit into all of this? Because I have a feeling I know the answer and I’m not going to like it.”

 “Well... the thing is, someone has overwritten the commands that I have given, and it works. Mostly. But it’s difficult to change right down to the core, so I doubt they’re working as efficiently as he would like. Plus, whatever they’re doing now it’s a short term solution. As soon as things like the water pump crop up it will be obvious that something is wrong, and once I started digging into it I’d expose them.” Ryn explained, now pacing in lines across the room. “What he really needs is for the new set of commands to exist alongside the current commands, to integrate with as opposed to just wiping out what I’ve done. Otherwise there'd be a... Well a conflict in the series of commands... the algorithms will work down. But all that requires a far more nuanced understanding of the watchers than anyone else would have. Except Tony...” 

“Tony ended up fixing the pump without breaking a sweat and word got around.” Steve finished. 

“Exactly. ‘Arresting’ me would draw attention. And he couldn’t risk cluing me in. Tony on the other hand... He’s a foreigner. Fewer people would miss him and they’d have an easy time coming up with a bogus excuse to keep him confined indefinitely.” Ryn was clearly upset and Steve was almost ready to scream in frustration., the only thing keeping him calm was the knowledge that a cool head and clear thinking was what was going to save Tony. It wasn’t the first time he’d waded into enemy territory to save someone he cared about, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to abandon Tony to his fate. 

“Do you have proof to back any of this up?” Steve asked, tactical mind kicking into action. 

“Well. yes. I have some information... And if I can get one of the watchers back I can prove that it’s been altered.” Ryn frowned, trying to parse what Steve was getting at.  Nodding, Steve grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen and started working.

 “Alright, here’s what I’m going to need.” 

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t the first time that Tony had been trapped in a cell and as much as he would have preferred it to be the last, he was fairly certain that it wouldn’t be. And, from the looks of it, Tony was alone down in the cell block. Off in the distance he occasional heard the scuffle of passing feet, but they would retreat a moment after. At first he’d made a half hearted effort to rattle the door knowing it would never budge.  Then he’d turned his attention to the finer details of the door, studying hinges and locks for any sign of weakness. If he’d had tools, maybe he could have done something. But his captors hadn’t seen fit to leave him with anything in the barren cell that could remotely be turned into something useful. Growing bored with his futile effort to leverage his way out, Tony turned his attention to examining every square inch of the floors, walls and ceiling. It wasn’t as if he actually expected to find a secret hidden passage inside a prison cell but it gave him something to do, and it never hurt to be familiar with one's surroundings. Of course, in this case it also offered absolutely no benefit. With a dramatic huff, Tony dropped himself to the floor of the cell, immediately cursing the hard cold surface.

 “You really need to step up the quality of your service here,” he called out into the space beyond the door. “I mean, really, the accommodations are shabby, and customer service is non-existent. I swear as soon as I’m out of here I’m leaving this place the worst possible yelp review. No stars, would not recommend.” He wasn’t the least bit surprised when no one responded but in the silence of his own cell he could at least admit that his was disappointed. A tiny part of him had hoped that maybe, just maybe if he called out he might be lucky enough to hear Steve calling back. That’s how it worked in the movies at least, and at this point his life sure felt surreal enough to be a movie. But instead of Steve all he had was the faint echo of his own voice against the stone walls reminding him that he was alone down here. He was nowhere near desperate enough to start crying -- he’d leverage his way out of here, it would just take time -- but he could feel a tightness in his throat that spread through his chest. After days of being a dick to Steve who was just trying to help make their lives easier here, all he’d wanted was to try and do something nice to make up for it and he couldn’t even manage that without fucking up. 

“Come on, Stark, pull yourself together,” he berated himself, giving his head a shake. “This is by no means the worst scape you’ve been in. They’re not going to fake arrest you just to let you starve to death down here.” If his internal clock was right, and, yeah, there was some margin of error thanks to being unconscious, but if it was right then Steve should have been up ages ago. Surely it wouldn’t take him long to realise that Tony was MIA. Of course, Tony tried not to think about the fact that even when Steve realised that he was missing, he’d have no idea where to start looking. A lot could happen in that time. 

As if on cue, the creak of a heavy door on old hinges drew Tony’s attention and his heartbeat quickened as sure, heavy feet strode down the corridor and a guard stopped in front of his cell. “About damn time.” Tony commented by way of greeting, arms folded over his chest. 

“Step back from the door, turn around, hands on your head.” He instructed with sharp efficiency. Tony didn’t budge. 

“Or what?” He challenged. The guard said nothing in response but drew a baton from his belt. “Fine, fine.” Tony rolled his eyes and turned around, wishing that he felt as confident as he sounded. He loathed not having an upper hand. Hell, he’d settle for even the tiniest bit of traction on the situation. But with no information and no tools he was dead in the water. Approaching him from behind, the guard took his wrists and jerked them down behind his back, snapping a pair of heavy shackles on his wrists. “Buy me dinner first.” Tony muttered as the guard placed a rough hand on his shoulder and turned him around, giving him a hard shove out of the cell. 

While being steered down the corridors Tony did what he could to track the passages and turns, making a mental map for himself. Not that it did much good just then with virtually no frame of reference, but it was a start and it was more than he had ten minutes before. They stopped in front of an open door and with an insistent nudge, Tony stumbled inside what appeared to be a office that clearly did not belong to the man sitting behind the desk. The office had the same kind of barren efficiency that he’d have expected in a guardroom but the man... while he still wore something that bore a similarity to the uniform of the guard, it was excessively elaborate. The way he held himself was that point between stiff and casual that screamed of someone who thought most things beneath him. To top it off, Tony’s escort gave the man a little head bow, called him sir, and was dismissed with a wave. Powerful, entitled asshole. 

“Lemme guess, you’re the Captain here.” Tony said dryly, eyes wandering away from the man to take in his surroundings. “You know it’s definitely been more than two hours here. I want my phone call. Or my embassy. And I’m willing to bet you probably don’t moonlight as a US ambassador.” The Chief Guards face clouded over momentarily before being replaced by the kind of false smile that Tony knew all too well. The kind of smile that was all cold calculation and determination of a man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. 

“You are quite the character, Mechanic.” He said, moving from behind the desk to stand in front of Tony, staring down hard at him. “You’re an intelligent man, so I’m going to cut right to the point.” 

“And this is the part where you tell me you want something and then threaten me.” Tony said, casually rolling his shoulder as best he could with the restraints. 

“Like I said, you’re an intelligent man.” The Chief confirmed. “You have certain… skills that I am in need of in very short order.” Moving back to the desk he removed the lid from the box and pulled out the damaged watcher Tony had seen earlier.

 “Look whatever you’re planning on doing, I want no part of it. You can take me back to my cell now,” he replied. The Chief continued to smile in that unsettling way and Tony pressed on. “I know how this goes. You make threats, I say no. You persuade me, I say no. You switch to aggressive persuasion and I say yes but then actually jury rig myself a way out that ends in fire and a lot of dead people. Trust me, this ain’t my first rodeo, and I’m sure as hell not prepared to play this game again.” Tony turned towards the door mostly for show than anything else but the Chief's words stopped him in his tracks. 

“I don’t think you fully understand your position, Mechanic.” He said casually. Against his better judgement, Tony decided to humour him, turning back again. 

“Yeah? And what position is that?” 

“You’re under arrest, by the Chief of the Guard none the less. On charges of tampering with security property, threatening public safety, construction of illicit technologies.” Tony stared at him, mouth agape in disbelief. 

“That is bullshit. You just made up a bunch of fake charges to keep me here,” he sputtered, tugging at his shackles. 

“I think you’ll find that someone in my position has the discretion to act in the best interest of public safety,” he said with mock seriousness. “And I believe that having you removed from the public is in their best interest.” 

“Fine, do it. Lock me up. Try me, I don’t care, I’m not helping you.” 

Dropping the act, the Chief planted his hand on the desk, leaned in and locked his hard eyes on Tony. 

“I’m not going to lock you up, Mechanic. I am going to make you disappear. You’re a foreigner, there isn’t a single person in our population who would notice you gone and be able to do anything. I am a patient man, I can wait. But should you continue to prove... stubborn, I will, oh how did you put it? Aggressively persuade you. After all, you weren’t acting alone were you. I would be more than pleased to have a chat with your friends.” Tony watched as the man strode back into his space as he spoke, forcing him to step back until his back hit the door behind him.  “In case I am not making myself clear,” he continued, all facade dropped. “I don’t need violence, and I don’t need to hurt you. Do what I need or you will never see the light of day. Olga will spend the last of her days breathing the recycled air of an underground prison. And your friend? The one who comes to town every day and smiles brighter than the sun when he talks about you? The one who no doubt as we speak is desperately trying to find a way back to you? He will search for the next ten years and still never find where I put you.” Tony opened his mouth to protest, to deny it all but before he could the chief grabbed his collar and shoved him against the door. “Now. Let me tell you what I need.”

 

* * *

 

“This plan is insane.”  Ryn said as he hurried to follow on Steve’s heels. 

“Well, I mean, probably. But I’ve done it before. Or something similar, at least.” Steve said with a shrug as they snuck up on the complex  “Admittedly, last time I tried this, I wasn’t also trying to steal evidence to expose a guy’s misdeeds. And it ended in a lot more fire than I’m hoping will be the case here… but yeah. I’ve done something similar.”  Ryn muttered something under his breath that something between cursing and throwing up a quick prayer, but Steve wasn’t about to question it. 

“Look,” Steve continued, “What I’m about to do is probably horribly illegal, and definitely dangerous. If it all goes sideways, you two are going to find yourselves in a lot of trouble. And that’s a best case scenario. I’m not asking you to come with me.”

 “You’re not asking but we’re coming anyway.” Olga cut in, glaring over at him. “You need our help to get in, we need your help to clear the way and get the information we needed. Everyone has something at stake here, and if we don’t move fast we’ll lose our window. The cell block here is small, it’s only designed to hold people temporarily. If they move him out of here to a detention facility, we’ll never find him.”  Alarmed, Steve stopped and stared at her. 

“You never mentioned that before, what do you mean we’ll never find him?” 

“I mean that the locations of the detention facilities are one of the most carefully guarded secrets and only a handful of people know where they are. People who go there don’t always or even often come back.” She explained as if she was talking about the weather.

 “And what, everyone is okay with this?” 

“Well, obviously not.” She responded to Steve’s outrage with careful ease. “But it’s not something we talk about. At least... not openly.” 

“How come I get the feeling there’s a lot about this place you haven’t told me.” Steve muttered darkly. 

“In our defence,” Ryn stepped in, “It wasn’t relevant. All of us, especially you and Tony, have been more worried about how to get you home than about telling you about where you were. And it’s... complicated.”

 “It doesn’t sound right.”   

“It’s not,” Ryn agreed. “But it’s our home and it’s our problem to deal with, Steve. And this? This ridiculous plan of yours that pretty much isn’t even a plan? Yes, it’s to save Tony but if it works, it’ll help us, too, after you’re gone. We’ve been trying so hard for so long to expose this man but we’ve never been able to get inside this building to get what we need. But now, with you it’s possible. Taking down the Chief, it’s not going to solve all the problems we have but it’ll be a start. A really good start. The breakthrough we’ve needed for so long.” 

Mollified, Steve settled his attention back to the task at hand, reviewing the admittedly barebones plan.   

“He’ll be expecting something, so we need to move fast. We fight our way in, find Tony, get what you need and get out.” 

“I can’t help but comment on the fact that the entirety of your plan is predicated on the assumption that you can outfight every single guard we come across.” Ryn pointed out. 

“Trust me, as long as I don’t get overwhelmed by numbers and you two stay safe, I’ll be able to.” Steve promised. “I’ve got a lot of motivation for this. Stay behind me, watch my six, keep us headed in the right direction. Leave the rest to me.”

 

* * *

 

They were going to move him. Of course. Tony’s resolve had ‘crumbled,’ he’d agreed to fix the coding in the watchers, to stabilize them with the patch the Chief’s men had done a piss poor job of integrating. He hadn’t taken a look at them yet, and he was stalling for time as much as he could but it didn’t matter. He knew in the core of his gut that they were going to move him and the idea of being taken somewhere that Steve couldn’t find him filled him with blind panic, the kind that made his chest feel tight and made it so that he couldn’t breathe. He’d been pacing the small cell ever since he’d been brought back there, waiting for his next orders, waiting to be brought to finish what he said he’d do. Well, fuck that.  He knew how this worked, he fixes the watchers, the Chief reneges on his offer, and Tony still ends up locked in some dark hole somewhere. There was no way around it, he was a liability and he couldn’t walk free. But he knew Steve would come for him; he just had to make certain that he wasn’t relocated before then. And come up with a plan so that he was ready to move when the rescue squad arrived. 

The clang of the door and the flurry of footsteps outside his cell door told him he was out of time just before a gruff voice demanded, “Get moving, you’ve got work to do.” As Tony turned around to put his hands on his head, waiting for the shackles he knew were coming the corner of his mouth quirked up in a hint of a smile. Yes, he did have work to do.

 

* * *

 

Getting through the front door without drawing attention or allowing the first wave of guards to alert anyone to their presence was really one of the harder parts of the plan.  They already anticipated that they’d be expected, and it didn’t help that all of them were recognisable. If the Chief knew Tony’s limited reputation well enough to target him, then he and quite possibly his people would know Steve as well. But in the end Steve was the one who went for it, bumbling in, playing up the lost foreigner schtick. He could feel their growing frustration as he managed to push them back inside, out of sight from prying eyes. As soon as they were in the clear he dropped the act and started swinging. Within seconds the guards were unconscious and there was a clear shot through the corridor and down into the underground.

 “Let’s move.” Steve called over his shoulder, charging headlong down the corridor. It wasn’t until they descended the three flights of stairs to the cell block that they met any more opposition. Steve was just about to round a corner when JARVIS brought him to a halt.

 “Captain, my scanners indicate heat signatures at the end of this corridor.” Steve cussed softly and glanced around, looking for a route he knew wasn’t there. 

“Is there any other way?” he asked. 

Ryn shook his head in response.

 “No, this really is the only way.” It wasn’t quite the response that Steve wasn’t hoping for, but there wasn’t much to be done about it. At least with JARVIS’ help he was able to pin down the location of the guards before he moved out. 

“Be careful!” Ryn hissed. “There may be more further along behind the stone where he can’t see them, and that chamber they’re standing in is going to echo. Any noise you make it going to draw attention.” 

That didn’t stop him tearing down the corridor. 

He was faster than them. Stronger than them. And they’d made the mistake of taking Tony away. Nothing could stop the growing anger or the laser precision strikes delivered to each of the guards around the corner who’d had no hope of seeing them coming. A moment later, Ryn peaked around the corner, greeted by the sight of unconscious guards and Steve standing tense and ready, and as if he’d exerted no effort to dispatch them. 

“Well that’s straight and to the point, then.” Olga said briskly as she stepped over one of the prone bodies and continued down the corridor, leaving Ryn behind blinking in awe. “Come on, then.” A short ways down another passage and up a short set of wide steps, Steve came to a halt as Olga reached out an arm to block the way. “Here.” She said, turning to face a heavy wooden door. Reaching into deep pocket she pulled out a thin set of tools and set about working the lock. Within second it clicked open and the door swung in.

 

“You know, we make a good team.” Steve said mildly as he followed inside the office. Ryn and Olga immediately set about scouring the room as Steve took the helmet from Ryn to check in with JARVIS. “Keep an eye open, will you please? I don’t want anyone sneaking up on us.” 

“Of course, Captain. I’ve been running continuous scans on heat signatures and vital signs since we entered the building.” JARVIS informed him, keeping his voice quiet so that it wouldn’t carry beyond the helmet. “The closest signs of life are one floor below us and approximately twenty metres southwest. I suspect that it is Sir.” On reflex, Steve snapped around and stared in that direction, his whole body tense and ready to spring. The only thing stopping him was that he didn’t want to leave Ryn and Olga undefended, though he suspected that at the least Olga could hold her own. The woman was resourceful if nothing else. 

“Got it.” She hissed in glee, dropping a stack of correspondence beside a ledger. “Everything we need to prove that there is cause to launch an investigation.”  Making his way over to the table Steve peered over her shoulder at everything that was spread out.

 “How are you going to manage it? Getting the corrupt guy in change of arresting people arrested?” Steve asked. She peered at him over her shoulder and smiled a smile that was full of dark humour. 

“You leave that to me, Steve. Rest assured. We’ll take him down. Now, let’s go get your boy back.” 

“He’s not-” Steve started to protest but Olga’s look stopped him in his tracks. 

“Lie to me if you have to, boy, but don’t lie to yourself.” Reaching up she patted Steve’s cheek, tucked her findings under her arm and breezed past him. Ryn followed behind, giving Steve an apologetic shrug as they made their way back to the corridor. Tony was so close he could feel it. A minute more and he’d be able to see with his own eyes that Tony was safe and unharmed. Or so he hoped. Except - 

“JARVIS, I swear to god if we don’t find a damn staircase I am going to punch through the floor into this cell.” Steve cussed after the third pass through the section of the level. “How hard is it to find a staircase?”

 

“Given our current experience and my inability to locate a suitable route, I would say ‘very’,” JARVIS responded dryly. 

“This way.” Ryn said, leading them around a corner and down an unassuming hallway. “They will want the detention level difficult to access, a circuitous route so that even if someone did escape, they wouldn’t find a way out.”  At this point Ryn was leading them in completely the opposite direction that they wanted to be going but Steve followed, stomach twisting itself into knots. The longer they took to find Tony, the greater the chance was he’d already be gone and that... that didn’t even bear thinking about. 

“Here!” Ryn called, shoving open a doorway that lead to a narrow staircase. Breathing a sigh of relief Steve hurried past, Olga squeezing his shoulder gently as he led them downstairs. In theory now it was a clear shot to Tony; he tried to stay calm, getting worked up now would lead to mistakes but with every step towards the cell block he moved a little faster. And when JARVIS confirmed that there was no other life signs between them and Tony, that was it. Steve took off running full tilt, skidding around a corner and crashing into a wall before pushing on. There, at the end off the hall, was a locked door barring his way, but Steve wasn’t about to let that stop him. Instead of slowing down he picked up speed, jumping and twisting at the last second to slam his feet against the weak point in the door, feeling it give way as he hit the ground and rolled to his feet. 

“Steve?” He heard a familiar voice call out, as he stood for a moment with his heart thudding in his chest. “Please tell me that’s you because if not I don’t want to know what’s out there.” There, three cells down the hall Steve saw Tony peering out between the bars of one of the doors, and nearly cried with the relief he felt. 

“Thank god, you’re okay.”  Steve breathed, eyeing up the lock to break.

 “Keys are hidden behind that panel.” Tony informed him, gesturing to a spot next to the door Steve had so kindly broken in. From there it was short work to get Tony’s cell open and the moment he stepped out Steve wrapped his arms around Tony, pulling him tight to his chest. Sensing his need, Tony went easily, sliding his own arms around Steve’s waist. 

“I’m right here, Cap.” He promised, smiling to himself. 

“Thought I’d lost you.” Steve admitted, resting his cheek against Tony’s head. 

“Yeah, I know. That’s what he wanted.” Tony said, clearly less than impressed. “But his grand master plan didn’t take into consideration the stubborn devotion of Steve Rogers.” 

“That about sums it up.” Steve murmured. Pulling back he gently took Tony’s chin and tilted his head up, leaning in to kiss him. Tony sighed happily against his mouth, leaning in to deepen it fingers tightening around Steve’s waist. 

“You know, as happy as I am that you two have gotten your act together, this isn’t really the time or place to linger.” Olga said with amusement.  She and Ryn had evidently  caught up. Reluctantly, Steve pulled away, but couldn’t find it in himself to be remotely embarrassed.

 “Later, soldier.” Tony promised with a cheeky grin. Looking down he noticed for the first time the helmet that was tucked under the arm that Steve hadn’t been using to hold him. “You brought me JARVIS!” he exclaimed, taking the helmet and hugging it close to his chest. “I hope Steve took good care of you.” 

“Captain Rogers has certainly ensured my safety and wellbeing,” JARVIS assured him. 

“Well good. Thanks for coming to rescue me J.” Tony slid the helmet over his head, the familiar display lighting up with information. “Now let’s see about getting the hell out of here. 

From there, with JARVIS’ help Tony quickly led them back through the corridors, following the path he had taken when he’d been brought up to his half-assed interrogation. Steve followed, taking rearguard,  keeping Ryn and Olga between them and running on high alert. They were still in the heart of enemy territory and getting in had been hard enough, but getting out with a prisoner in tow without leaving a wave of destruction... that was something different. And he had been right to be worried, as it turned out. Having made their way back up to the main level they all came to an abrupt halt as Tony held up a fist to stop them. 

“JARVIS says we’ve got company ahead,” Tony warned quietly. “Apparently whoever you took out to get in here didn’t stay down long enough.” 

“Shit. I was afraid of that.” Steve cussed, adjusting his shield on his arm and preparing for a fight.”  Before he could gather anymore information or come up with any kind of plan, a sharp guard in a dress uniform flanked by two others came into view around the corner.  Ahead of him Tony swore and the man at the end of the corridor narrowed his gaze. 

“You.” Tony spat. Ryn’s eye widened and Olga instinctively held the ledgers and papers tighter, but to their credit neither flinched or back down from the man who clearly the target they intended to take down, armed with stolen information. 

“You know, Ryn. I’ve been looking for an excuse to arrest you.” The Chief said casually, eyeing them up. “But you’re practically untouchable. Too value, too high profile. The advantage your unique position grants you. It makes it incredibly difficult to... shall we say make greater advantage of your skill set.” Steve tensed and ahead of him he saw Tony shift, ready to spring. “But this,” the Chief continued, “breaking into a detention compound, freeing a prisoner, stealing private documents, even the council won’t be able to save you from this.” 

“They will once they know what these contain.” Olga spat back, moving herself in front of Ryn. 

“Ah, but my dear, they won’t ever _see_ these documents. And it will be my word against yours. Who do you think they’ll believe? The Chief of the Guard defending his honour, or you, an ex-love out for petty revenge?” The word took a second to sink in and Steve blinked in disbelief, filing that away in the ‘to ask later’ list of questions. 

“Right, well great as this reunion is, you’re between me and where I need to be.” The clip in Tony’s light tone pushed Steve even further on edge, the tension in the air around them so thick that it was only a matter of time before something gave way and all hell broke loose.

 “You’re not going anywhere.” The Chief said, stepping towards them and blocking the middle of the corridor. “I told you. You’re a liability. I’d rather clean this whole mess up quickly and quietly before any of you have the chance to make it worse. I have a business to run and a city to watch.” 

“And people to exploit. Which, historically? Is not awesome.” As Tony spoke Steve had quickly moved himself to stand beside Tony, lamenting not for the first time the fact that he’d left his shield back at the tower.  The chief's face clouded over and he moved a few steps closer, his guards falling into step beside him. 

“I’ve run out of patience with you and I’m done humouring you. Restrain them, get them back into cells. Do not let them outside.” He ordered. In an instant Steve surged forward, blocking the other three from the guards and moving to strike. Three against two, they could handle this is no one else showed up. Steve pushed forward, launching himself to take down the chief when in a flash one of the guards turned and grabbed him first, pulling a long knife from his belt and holding it to his throat. 

“No. You’re under arrest.” She said through gritted teeth, pinning the man’s arms behind him. Steve skidded to a halt as the woman forced the chief down to his knees. 

“Next time... maybe lead with that?” Tony said from behind him, evidently just as confused as Steve was.  The guard drew something from her pocket that Tony recognised as the same stuff that had been used on him, and a second later the chief slumped to the floor. 

“I’m sorry, love.” She said, now turning her attention to Olga. “The opportunity was there and I took it. I dearly hope that you have everything that you needed or this is going to end badly for us.” 

“I do.” Olga assured, holding up her prize. A few quick steps brought her over to the guard and she placed a quick kiss on the corner of the woman’s mouth. “Thank you, Alma.” 

“Not to break up what is very clearly a moment,” Tony interrupted, “But this means we can leave now, right? Because I really, really want to get out of here and go... well literally anywhere that is not right here.”

 

* * *

 

Steve and Tony returned to the tower, slipped away in the midst of chaos. Neither wanted to be anywhere near and risk getting pulled into some kind of political whatever this was.  “Not what I signed up for, had enough excitement today, don’t need to get dragged in,” Tony had said. “Beside, JARVIS is tired.” Steve allowed him that one, sneaking an arm around him and pulling him in to kiss his temple as they started the trek back. 

Hours passed before Ryn and Olga returned, the sun already dropping from the sky and shifting into evening by the time they did. Both looked worn out but content as they sank into soft chairs in the study. Tony allowed them all of ten seconds to catch their breaths before launching into the questions. 

“I mean, I get why captain what’s his name chieftain of ass clowns decided to scoop me. Stupid move by the way, but, hey, he doesn’t follow CNN so I’ll forgive that. But the rest of... whatever that was Ms-my-life-is-apparently-super-complicated-and-probably-relevant-to-whatever-we’re-doing, what was that?” 

“It wasn’t relevant.” Olga said with a shrug. “At least not before today, when the two of you became involved. As I told Steve, this is our battle, it’s our problem to fix. I’m sorry you were pulled into it.” 

“What Tony is saying, is that you don’t owe us an explanation.” Steve said, ignoring Tony’s glares. 

“Boy, that isn’t at all what he’s saying.” She laughed, “I don’t fault him his curiosity, nor yours. Which is written all over your face, no matter how polite you try to be.” Steve tried to look apologetic but couldn’t quite bring himself to. 

“There isn’t much to tell.” She continued, “The Chief and I were together once, a long time ago, before he was the chief. He wasn’t a good man and so I left. But it was messy and so I left the city for a time. Moved to the countryside, travelled further afield, threw myself into my research. A few years later, I met Alma. She was a guard, I knew the type. Brash, arrogant. I was tainted by my experience so for a long while I refused to remember that most were altruistic, who wished to uphold the oath they took. In time I grew to like her, and then to love her. Of course that’s when I… disappeared for a while. I’m sure Ryn told you?”

 Steve and Tony both nodded, recalling the story of how she passed through the veil. 

“Anyway,” She pressed on, “When, against the odds, I found my way back, I swore to not let my prejudices stand in the way of what made me happy, and that was that. She has been working on the inside, it’s how we realised there was a problem in the first place. It wasn’t until Ryn realised there were problems with the Watchers the other day that we recognised just how deep his reach extended. We were making a plan, long term, a way to uncover the truth. But today… it just happened that saving Tony got us inside, and it was by good luck that Alma was on his guard today. I said nothing before, because I honestly didn’t expect that this would happen.” 

“Well, it worked out for us, having her on our side.” Steve said appreciatively. “We could have gotten out but it would have been messy. And it would have left a target on you two.” 

“It was fortuitous.” Olga agreed. “I’m sorry for what happened, the risk to Tony, the distress. But selfishly I am grateful because today spared us weeks of grief. I said it was our fight, but your help, accidental though it was, was paramount in us moving forward. So thank you.” Tony waved her off easily.

 “Happy to help,” he said. “Least we could do.” 

“It seems to have worked out well for you both.” Ryn grinned as Tony reached over and took Steve’s hand. 

“Great as this has been, and awesome as you are, how are things on the getting-us-home front?” Tony asked, desperately hopeful.  Smiling, Olga reached into her bag and pulled out a box which she opened. 

“I was able to get one of these from an old friend. He was reluctant to give it to me; they’re dangerous and we agreed that they shouldn’t be used. The risk of losing yourself, of losing your home, of becoming lost god knows where... until we had a way to keep it stable, we wouldn’t use them. But… he had a theory. We ran a few tests. It isn’t safe, there is a chance that something could wrong. But I think that if you have a clear understanding and a clear image in your minds of exactly where you want to end up... it should work.” 

“Oh, thank sanity.” Tony sank into his chair, tension draining away. “Don’t think I’m not grateful, but when can we do this?” Ryn and Olga glanced at one another before Ryn responded. “I need a little time to to make sure I understand what I’m doing. It requires a lot of manipulating energy in a very precise way. And I wouldn't want to attempt it unrested. So tomorrow, at the soonest.” 

“I think we can wait one more night.” Steve assured them.

 

* * *

 

That night there was no discussion. Steve went to bed and Tony followed him into his room instead of going down to the shop. He set the helmet on a table in the room and quietly crawled into bed beside Steve. Without prompting, Steve opened his arms and pulled Tony in, holding him close and kissing him softly before closing his eyes.

 

* * *

 

“This feels like witchcraft.” Tony complained as they stood outside the following afternoon. 

“You’ve said that about nearly everything you’ve encountered since being here.” Ryn pointed out, doubt checking notes and machinery. 

“Yes, and I stand by it.” He said, triple checking all his own armour. This was going to require a leap of faith in someone else and their work, not exactly his favourite position to be in, but needs must. Olga and Ryn had spent all morning checking and rechecking their plan. Tony had plugged JARVIS back into BIT to help crunch variables and run models until they were satisfied with the results. Steve and Tony had spent all day picturing home, holding it in their minds because apparently, though Tony was loathe to acknowledge it, that would be their guiding beacon. And now, here they were, ready to go; either they would end up home or so far off course they’d never get back. He should be nervous, scared they’d end up at the other end of the universe but hey, maybe with Steve the other end of the universe wouldn’t be bad. And there was always a chance, however distant, that Heimdall might see them hitchhiking and find it in his big Asgardian heart to bring them home. In any case, they’d find a way to manage. All of them. 

“We’re ready.” Ryn said. The goodbyes weren’t long but Tony felt a tug at his chest now that the moment was here. As badly as he wanted to be home, they’d made friends here. Friends they’d owed a lot to.

 “Thanks. You know... for everything.” He said, he and Steve both giving them tight hugs. 

“You won’t be forgotten.” Ryn promised. “Good luck.” 

Together Steve and Tony stepped into the ring created by the machinery, the crystal Olga brought shimmering, pulsing almost in tune with the click of the gears.  Ryn and Olga placed their hands on opposite sides and turned their attention inward. 

“Focus.” Olga said as a glow surrounded them. Fingers locked together Steve and Tony did just that. They thought of home. Of New York, of the tower, of Tony’s shop, of Dummy and the others. They thought of the team, picturing their faces as they sat around the table. They thought of quiet moments on late nights shared just between the two of them, the dark seeming a little brighter with the company.  Above them in the glow a shape began to take form, a sense of familiarity settling around them. 

“It’s working!” They heard Ryn shout over the hum that grew louder.  At the last second Tony threw up his hand, two fingers up in a peace sign before there was a flash and once again the whole world was spinning. 

It stopped as suddenly as it started and the two went from feeling like they were falling to landing firmly on solid ground. It took a moment to catch his breath before Tony spoke. 

“Did it work? I’m scared to open my eyes.” He admitted, still feeling Steve’s hand in his.

“Sir, I am pleased to inform that my connection to Stark Industries servers has been re-established. Verifying satellite uplink now and running diagnostic now,” JARVIS informed him and Tony cheered.

“They did it. Those maniacs actually did it.” Pulling off his helmet Tony opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of the New York skyline from atop the terrace at the tower. “We’re home. Steve we’re home.” Beside him Steve was sitting up, smiling widely, looking not at the skyline but at him.

“Damn right we are.” Surging forward Tony pushed Steve to the ground, throwing a leg over him to straddle him and leaning down to kiss him senseless, high on the joy that they were home and they had each other.

“Damn right we are, Rogers.” He agreed.

 


End file.
